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What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

 

It's zenburn.

 

How do I get it?

 

You can get it from MELPA

 

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

 

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.

What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

 

It's zenburn.

 

How do I get it?

 

You can get it from MELPA

 

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

 

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.

What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

It's zenburn.

How do I get it?

You can get it from MELPA

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.

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What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this onethis one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

It's zenburn.

How do I get it?

You can get it from MELPA

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.

What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

It's zenburn.

How do I get it?

You can get it from MELPA

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.

What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

It's zenburn.

How do I get it?

You can get it from MELPA

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.

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Asking off-topic questions in comments

What is the best way to go about asking another user a question that is relevant to Emacs, but perhaps tangential to any given question?

For example, what if a user posts screenshots and I want to know what theme they are using? Or what font they are using? Or what package they are using to get their mode-line to look like that? Or what they are using to record gifs?

I often find myself wanting to ask other users about these things. However, I have seen long conversations like this one, and understand that there isn't really a way to send a private message to another user - I also understand, and agree with the reasoning behind this. However, I also don't know how the community feels about off-topic comments on questions. Maybe the question is "How do I do X in Emacs?". It is probably not the most productive/helpful thing to start a conversion in the comments along the lines of:

What theme are you using in those screenshots?

It's zenburn.

How do I get it?

You can get it from MELPA

I see multiple themes with zenburn in their names, which one specifically are you using?

...

Of course, this is a particularly annoying example, and it would probably stop at the second comment in most cases. So, would this kind of exchange in the comments be frowned upon/discouraged by the community, or is it OK? Would it be better to take a screenshot of their screenshot and ask another question? Ask in comments and then delete comments later to remove noise? Other possibilities? I have been wondering about this recently, and I was curious if there is an established/suggested way to ask these kinds of questions.